Mercury vs Relay (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mercury grades higher than Relay: 3.0 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mercury grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mercury
Business banking with cards, expenses, bill pay and invoicing
Relay
Online business banking with bill pay, cards and expenses
Which one is for you
Pick Mercury if
- Fits if you run a startup and want cards, bill pay and invoicing on a $0 account
- Works for companies that send USD payments and sync to QuickBooks or Xero
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Android, as only web and iPhone are listed
- Pricey if you want ACH debit invoicing at $0 or a relationship manager, which sit on Pro at $299 a month
- Watch out: Mercury isn't an FDIC-insured bank, as banking comes from Choice Financial Group and Column N.A.
- Watch out: non-USD international wires carry a 1% exchange fee and non-USD card transactions 3%
- Watch out: Books is $35 a month and Payroll $100 plus $50 a person, both waived only until 31 December 2026
Pick Relay if
- Fits if you run a small business and want several checking accounts with cards under one login
- Works for teams that want a savings rate and cash back, and will pay for Grow
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Starter: it earns less on savings and lacks spend approval requests
- Pricey if you want automation, as Scale is $90 a month
- Watch out: transaction fees apply on every plan, for example $25 for SWIFT wires on Starter
- Watch out: Relay isn't an FDIC-insured bank, as banking comes from Thread Bank
- Watch out: pay-by-bank invoice collection costs 1%, 0.75% or 0.5% depending on plan, capped at $10
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAMercuryVery good | 2.8GPARelayGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe Mercury plan is $0, with Plus at $29.90 a month and Pro at $299 on yearly billing. The core is free, so the paid plans are optional. | BStarter is $0, and Grow is $30 a month and Scale $90. The $0 plan covers the core, so the paid plans are an upgrade, not a toll. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe $0 plan has no monthly fee or minimum balance, with cards, expense management, invoicing and bill pay. A 30-day free trial of Plus is offered. | AStarter is free outright, with 20 checking accounts, cards with spend controls, invoicing and QuickBooks and Xero sync. A 14-day trial of Grow or Scale is also offered. |
| Features | BCompany cards, expense management, bill pay and payments, invoicing and accounting integrations on the free plan. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work. | CChecking and savings, debit and credit cards, expense tracking, bill pay and invoicing. Spend approval requests and bookkeeping automation start on Grow. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You open a business bank account, which takes setup and verification. | CNo store rating on record. You open a business bank account, which takes setup and verification. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and iPhone, with QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite. No Android or desktop app listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online and Xero. No desktop app. |
| Best for | online business banking for startups | business banking for a small team with several accounts |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Mercury and Relay. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mercury starts at $29.90 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Relay starts at $30 a month and scores 2.3.
Mercury scores higher and starts $0.10 a month lower. Of the other spend and bill pay tools on the chart, 7 score higher than Mercury for less, and 15 score higher than Relay for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Mercury also covers payroll.
At a glance
| Mercury | Relay | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29.90 per month, billed annually | $30 per month |
| Free plan | The Mercury plan is $0 a month with checking and savings, cards, expense management, invoicing and bill pay. | Starter plan: $0 a month, with 20 checking accounts, cards with spend controls, invoicing and QuickBooks and Xero integration. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Mercury Plus | 14-day trial of the Grow or Scale plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Mercury | Relay |
| Price read from | mercury.com | relayfi.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Mercury
- Mercury is not an FDIC-insured bank; banking is provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.
- Non-USD international wires carry a 1% currency exchange fee, and non-USD card transactions carry 3%.
- Mercury Books is $35 a month and Mercury Payroll is $100 a month plus $50 per person paid, both waived until Dec 31, 2026.
- Treasury, which pays up to 4.21% yield, is available only with a $250K Mercury balance, and Stripe fees apply to credit card invoice payments.
Relay
- Relay is not an FDIC-insured bank; banking services come from Thread Bank, Member FDIC.
- Transaction fees apply on every plan: for example SWIFT international wires are $25 on Starter, $22 on Grow and $20 on Scale.
- Pay-by-bank invoice collection costs 1%, 0.75% or 0.5% of the amount on Starter, Grow and Scale, capped at $10.
- Savings APY and card cash back differ by plan and are variable, so the $0 Starter plan earns less than the paid plans.
Key features
Mercury
- Company cards
- Virtual and physical debit and credit cards, with custom spend limits, merchant-locked cards and duplicate subscription detection. Corporate credit cards earn 1.5% cashback.
- Expense management
- Employee cards with limits, automatic receipt matching for card transactions, custom categories and reimbursements, including mileage.
- Bill pay and payments
- Free domestic ACH, wires, real-time payments and checks in USD, plus payment by ACH debit or wire drawdown.
- Invoicing
- Unlimited invoices that accept card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, wire and ACH, with recurring invoices on paid plans.
- Accounting integrations
- Syncs with accounting tools such as QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite.
Relay
- Checking and savings accounts
- Open up to 20 checking accounts (50 on Scale) and high-yield savings accounts, with deposits auto-transferred by rule.
- Debit and credit cards
- Visa debit and credit cards with spend limits and roles, up to 50 debit cards per cardholder per checking account.
- Expense tracking
- Receipt capture and upload reminders, expenses categorized as they happen, and sync to accounting software.
- Bill pay
- Upload bills, assign tasks, set multi-step approval rules and pay vendors by ACH or wire.
- Invoicing
- Create and track invoices, send payment links and automated follow-ups, and collect by card, bank payment or wire.
Plans
Mercury
Mercury$0
No monthly fees or minimum balance. Includes company cards, expense management, bill pay, invoicing and free USD ACH, wires and real-time payments.
Mercury Plus$29.90
per month, billed annually
Adds recurring invoices, ACH debit invoicing at $1 per transaction, unlimited 1099 filings, priority support and 6 months of free Xero.
Mercury Pro$299
per month, billed annually
Adds a relationship manager, ACH debit invoicing at $0 per transaction and NetSuite categorizations on top of what Plus has.
Relay
Starter$0
20 checking accounts, 1.19% APY on savings and 1% cash back on credit cards, as of 9/17/2026. Same-day ACH is $1 and domestic wires are $8.
Grow$30
per month
Adds spend approval requests, batch vendor payments, bookkeeping automation and recurring invoices. 1.87% APY and 1.25% cash back. Same-day ACH is $0.50 and domestic wires are $5.
Scale$90
per month
Shown as $90, down from $120, no end date given. 50 checking accounts, bill payment automation, cash flow forecasts, 3.21% APY, 1.5% cash back and no fee for same-day ACH.
Ways to pay less
Mercury
- Annual discount
15% off with annual billing
The pricing page toggle reads Annual Pricing (15% off), and was on by default when read. The monthly-billed price is not shown.
Relay
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mercury or Relay?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mercury is cheaper to start with: $29.90 a month, against $30 a month for Relay. Mercury starts at $29.90 per month, billed annually, and Relay starts at $30 per month.
Which has a free plan, Mercury or Relay?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Mercury and Relay have a free plan.
Which platforms do Mercury and Relay run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Relay lists an Android app. Both list a web app and an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.